BATMAN: The Telltale Series - Episode 3: New World Order | Xbox One

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After a disappointing second outing, New World Order elbows Telltale’s take on the Dark Knight back on track. As the centre point of the story, it fittingly serves as a meaty filling on which to chew by placing a focus on the strengths established in the opener that were, unfortunately, largely abandoned by its successor.

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by Sam
​Sant

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@SlamShotSam

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Developer: Telltale 
Games
Publisher: Telltale
Games
Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, PS3, PC, Mac, iOS, Android
Players: 1 - 12

As Bruce Wayne faces continued scrutiny following the unearthing of his family’s muddied past, the Children of Arkham - who made a strong debut in the previous episode - move to challenge Gotham’s established authorities. Struggling to combat their uprising, desperate GCPD Commissioner Jim Gordon adopts the iconic Bat-Signal and reluctantly allies with the World’s Greatest Detective.

The player shares Gordon’s feelings of helplessness throughout the episode as they lead Bruce on an inevitable trip to rock bottom. Mr. Wayne loses his namesake to an unthinkable replacement, his friend to mental illness, and his technology to compromise. These misfortunes culminate in a rattling sense of injustice that’ll have even the most stoic onlookers firmly rooting against the series’ antagonists, though begrudgingly still able to appreciate their motivations.

A leading neerdowell and BDSM fanatic (cannot actually confirm), the Children of Arkham’s leader reveals himself to be a seasoned, staff-wielding martial artist and a follower of the “fear is power” creedence that Batman himself isn’t unfamiliar with. Whilst there are some clues as to his identity in there, for now the purveyor of a New World Order remains anonymous and a curious driving force going forward. We can only hope the reveal ruffles as many feathers as when Hulk Hogan was outed way back when… (To clarify, he shockingly turned bad to lead the NWO wrestling faction. Pseudo-similes are probably like jokes and lose their lustre when you have to explain them, right?)

​Whilst Bats engages not-Hulk-Hogan in fisticuffs, the sparing use of combat in the episode is definitely to its benefit. There are no drawn-out planning phases that succeed in spite of your choices, and quick time events aren’t abundant enough to become wearisome. The reclaimed runtime also sees the return of investigations, albeit not as engagingly gruesome this time around.

Gotham is in shambles, undesirables are in positions of power, and we need to intervene.

On the topic of irrelevant choices, they’re still very much a constant presence. Most notably we devoted ourselves to a central character in an effort to prevent the obvious occurring, but it did anyway. Telltale’s take on this character's transformation is admittedly grabbing though, so it’s hard to hold it against them too much. The iconic villain is born of both stress and paranoia that develop into crippling mental illness, rather than being overtly maniacal for evil's sake.

Grey morality also seeps into the relationship that blossomed with Selina Kyle in episode two, forcing you to question your allegiances once again (not that anyone in their right mind should ever really trust Catwoman). These scenes are a case study on Batman’s flawed humanity, and we take great interest in watching them unfold as a result.

With a glut of engaging characters, relationships and events simultaneously unfurling, we only wish we could binge our way to the end Netflix-style. Gotham is in shambles, undesirables are in positions of power, and we need to intervene. The cliffhanger ending and a tantalising preview of what’s to come certainly won’t make the wait any easier.

Pros

• A return to form for the series
• Characters are now full enough to evoke emotional response
• Like a car crash, you can’t stop staring as things go brutally wrong
• Still offering unexpected surprises, even for Bat-fans
• Left us excited for the last couple of episodes

Cons

• Continued technical hitches
• Choices still fail to make any significant narrative impact

Score 8/10